The IV Moscow Kurdish film festival with the screening of the film Sinjar directed by Anna Bofarul by the Spanish filmmaker will be opened.

The IV Moscow Kurdish film festival with the screening of the film SINJAR directed by Anna Bofarul by the Spanish filmmaker will be opened. The film is dedicated to the events of 2014, when ISIS invaded Sinjar to commit genocide.

The IV Moscow Kurdish film festival headed by Kerem Gerdenzeri, under the management of Gulizer Gerdenzeri – Inna Tedzhoeva, with the aim of reflecting the culture, history and preserving the national identity and mother tongue of the Kurds and the modern life of this nation. It will also be held from September 18 to 22, 2024 in the city of Moscow in the Russian Federation with the screening of the feature film competition, full-length documentary competition, of the short fiction film competition and the short documentary competition.

The film SINJAR is dedicated to the events of 2014

The IV Moscow Kurdish Film Festival will open on September 18 at Cinema Park Mosfilm (Mosfilmovskaya, 1, building 44). with a screening of the film SINJAR by director Anna M. Bofarul. The film is dedicated to the events of 2014, when ISIS invaded Sinjar to commit genocide. One of the heroines ends up in slavery along with her three children, another escapes and tries to return home. And the third searches for her missing son in Barcelona. The film will tell how far these women will go to save those they love.

Night of Kurdish Cinema in Bersenevsky Lane

In addition, on September 21, the unique Lumiere Hall space (Bersenevsky per., 2, building 1) will host the Night of Kurdish Cinema. From 23:00 to 06:00, Kurdish films will be screened as part of the festival. A total of 24 feature and documentary short and feature films will be presented. The audience will also be able to try delicious tea and oriental sweets.

Moscow Kurdish Film Festival will be screened in Moskino cinemas

Moskino cinemas will screen modern masterpieces of Kurdish cinema from September 18 to 22 as part of the IV Moscow Kurdish Film Festival. In addition, the Night of Kurdish Cinema will be held on September 21 at Lumiere Hall (Bersenevsky Lane, 2, building 1). All films will be shown in their original language with Russian subtitles.

The main venue for the festival will be the cinemas of the Moskino chain. Screenings of competition and non-competition films within the framework of the festival will be held from September 18 to 22 in the cinemas Moskino Fakel, Moskino Cosmos, Moskino Molodezhny and Moskino Sputnik. The Feature Film Competition includes 7 full-length films, the Documentary Competition – 8 films, the Short Film Section – 15 feature films and 9 documentaries.

Intercultural cultural exchange and dialogue

This year, the festival focuses on intercultural dialogue in general and cooperation with Russia. Continuing the tradition of previous years, as part of a cultural exchange, the festival will once again bring together filmmakers and film lovers from around the world to show true masterpieces of Kurdish cinema.

A special focus is on films about the Yazidis and their ancient Mesopotamian religion. The geography of the participants is very diverse – the programs include films from 12 countries: Spain, France, Canada, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Syria, Kurdistan Region, etc.

The jury members of the feature film Competition

The festival films will be evaluated by different jury categories (full-length, short fiction and feature), which include director, screenwriter and producer Angelina Nikonova, actress and director Lyanka Gryu, producer Maxim Dobromyslov, producer Elena Glikman, Greek geographer-humanitarian, journalist and director Thomas Sideris, director, screenwriter and producer of documentary and feature films Ivan Bolotnikov, etc.

A separate focus on films about the Yazidis

A separate focus is on films about the Yazidis and their ancient Mesopotamian religion. This is also reflected in the festival’s visual concept: the central symbol of this year’s poster is a peacock feather, which is a powerful symbol for the Kurdish people, especially in the context of Yazidism, the ancient ancestral religion of all Kurds. It emphasizes the importance of preserving and popularizing Kurdish culture through cinema.